Our last night in the woods was a cold one… probably the coldest since we started the trail. That didn’t make it easier to wake up this morning and pack up our warm sleeping bags before the sun was even up. Excitement for the big final climb, however, got us moving early and we were all packed up by 6am.
One of the nice things about Katahdin Stream Campground is that thru-hikers can leave their big packs at the ranger station for the day and borrow one of the many day packs they have available so you can essentially slack pack up Katahdin. We took advantage of this, and used a single day pack for the two of us to carry some water, snacks, and jackets.
Right around 6:23am we hit the trailhead and began the final 5 mile hike up Katahdin. The trail began with a really nicely graded path, with well maintained stone steps. This lasted for about a mile, up to the falls. It was a nice warmup before the hard stuff ahead. At about 2.6 miles, or just after halfway, we hit the treeline, and were confronted with a big, steep pile of boulders… it was time to climb.
The next mile or two really wasn’t so much hiking as it was climbing. We were using our arms and hands as much as or legs and feet. There’s really not a path during this climb, just a bunch of white blazes painted onto rocks to make sure you’re climbing in the right direction. It was a pretty challenging climb, but it was a lot of fun. It was made even more intense by the high winds that were gusting hard, forcing us to keep a low center of gravity. The winds were so strong that we both had to wear jackets for the entire climb because it got so cold. I’m not entirely sure what the wind chill factor was, but it felt like it got down into the low 40s. There were a few points during the climb that I felt more like a mountaineer climbing Everest rather than an Appalachian Trail hiker just summiting a peak.
When the steep part of the climb ended we were about 1.5 miles to the summit. This last section is called the Tablelands because it is a wide, flat, open space near the top of the mountain. The trail ascends to the summit more gradually here, only getting steep one last time just before hitting the peak. It still wasn’t super fast going though. The Tablelands section was covered in rocks that needed to be navigated, and it was still very cold and windy. We were still pretty lucky with the weather though, and we had some of the most incredible views of the entire trip as we climbed up to the Tablelands and walked across them. Only the very top of the mountain was shrouded in some clinging clouds.
As we headed up the final climb we entered the clouds. At one point Bear Bell turned around to show me that she had just bent her hiking pole. She had slipped and caught herself with it. It was a bit poetic that it happened right at the end of our journey. As we were up in the clouds wet couldn’t see the summit, so we weren’t really sure how much further we had to go. With the wind still whipping by us, we both thought that we still must have about a half mile to climb. As we took a few more steps into the mist of the cloud, we saw a sign materialize… there was the summit. We walked the last 100 yards of the trail side-by-side to officially become thru-hikers together.
The summit wasn’t exactly a relaxing place to rest for too long. We both had to put on an extra layer to keep out the wind and cold. We still had a snack up there, and of course took a few photos at the summit sign. We didn’t really have the chance to process the fact that we had just completed a 2,189.1 mile walk since it was just so cold and windy. All we could really focus on was getting back down below the treeline, out of the wind so we could warm up again.
The climb down was even more fun than the climb up. It was just as windy, but as we headed down we passed many other thru-hiker friends on their way up to complete their hikes. Every time we’d pass someone there’d be exchanges of congratulations, fist bumps, and big smiles. It was great to see so many of the people that we’ve hiked with on their way up to achieve their goal, and it felt good to be congratulated by the people who have gone through the same experience that we have.
We were back down at the campground just a little after noon, completing the 10.2 miles in about 5 hours and 43 minutes. I wouldn’t recommend that anyone use that as a planning time for this hike. The park generally says it’s an 8-10 hour hike, which is probably accurate for most hikers who haven’t been hiking for 5 months straight.
As we wandered back into the campground it finally started to sink in that the hike was over. I don’t really even know how to explain the feeling. It’s kind of like a mixture of relief and happiness that we completed it mixed with some sadness that it’s over. It was similar to that feeling of graduating from college; relief to be done with all the work and tests, but sad to be leaving the place that had become your home, and all the friends that you made. That’s about the closest I can come to describing the finish. I imagine it’s similar to retiring from a job, or any other experience where you get to relax from something that consumed all your time and energy for a period of time, but you also leave the good people behind. I’m hoping this makes some sense.
We laid around the campground for a few hours, and Bear Bell’s mom came to pick us up around 2:30. By that time there was a good mixture of thru-hikers that had just finished their hikes and others that had just arrived to the campground who will finish tomorrow. We were pleasantly surprised to see our old friend Calorie walk up just before we left… we hadn’t seen him since Hot Springs, almost 4.5 months ago. He started on the same day we did and will finish just one day after us, yet we never crossed paths again after we separated in Hot Springs. It’s crazy how the trail works like that.
We went into Millinocket for the night, and Bear Bell and I got some bunks at the Appalachian Trail Lodge. One last night hanging out with our thru-hiker trail family. We had drinks at the Blue Ox Saloon, where we chatted with a few locals who were quite congratulatory. These little towns in Maine have been so friendly towards us hikers, it’s another one of those things we’ll miss.
This will not be the final post regarding our hike. Once we’re settled a bit I will do a proper write up to try and process how we think we’ve changed, what we learned, and of course some shout outs to everyone who helped us out.
Congratulations Alex and Casey! We enjoyed and appreciate your sharing of this great journey with us.
Are you settled? Your followers are patiently waiting for your post-hike post 🙂